Ember Horde

Ember Horde is a fast arena survival game about one lone keeper holding back an endless tide of ash demons. You only steer; your weapons fire on their own. Every foe you burn drops a crystal, every crystal fills the experience bar, and every level-up freezes the action and lets you choose one of three upgrades. Spin Cinder Blades around you, loose Spark Wand bolts, pulse a Scorch Aura, chain Storm lightning between enemies, throw a returning Reaper Arc or lob Pitch Bombs into the crowd. A run lasts fifteen minutes. The horde grows every minute, new monster types join the mix, and mighty bosses arrive at minutes five, ten and fifteen. Survive the Ashen Tyrant at the end and you win. Pair a fully upgraded weapon with the matching passive item to evolve it into a far deadlier form. Six weapons and six passive items give you plenty of ways to build, and every run plays differently. On touch screens, press anywhere and a virtual joystick appears under your thumb. On desktop use WASD or the arrow keys. Keep moving, circle the pack and grab crystals before the crowd closes in. When the field gets crowded, crystals merge so the game stays smooth even with hundreds of enemies on screen. Gold you earn is spent at Cinder Camp between runs on permanent upgrades such as more health, damage, armor, speed, gold and experience. Unlock three more heroes, each with their own starting weapon and strengths. If you fall, you can watch an optional video once per run to rise again with full health, or double the gold you earned after the run. Progress is saved on your device and nothing needs to be installed. It suits quick breaks and long chases for a perfect fifteen minutes alike.